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| Solar Flare (July 24, 2008) |
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A powerful explosion of particles and energy known as a solar flare erupts from the Sun in this false-color image. The flare forms a bright red loop at lower left. Such flares may trigger vibrations in the surface that ripple all the way around the Sun. [NOAA] For more information, see our July 24 program. |
| On the Bubble (July 18, 2008) |
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The remains of an exploded star expand into the galaxy in this composite image from Chandra X-Ray Observatory and optical and radio telescopes on the ground. The star exploded in the year 1006 as seen from Earth, so it is known as Supernova 1006. The star's remnants continue to expand at several percent of the speed of light, so this bubble of gas and dust spans several dozen light-years. The bright yellow band at top right is where the expanding cloud is ramming into denser gas around it, creating a shockwave. The supernova remnant is about 7,000 light-years away.[NASA/NRAO/NOAO/et al]
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| Heading Out (July 14, 2008) |
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An artist's concept shows the Voyager 2 spacecraft leaving the magnetic 'bubble' that surrounds the solar system and entering a turbulent region where interstellar magnetic fields over the Sun's. Voyager has found that the magnetic bubble, known as the heliosphere, is squeezed inward toward the Sun more on the southern side than the northern side. A spacecraft scheduled for launch later this year will try to map this boundary region from Earth orbit, while Voyager 1 and 2 continue to probe the region as they exit the solar system. [NASA] For more information, see our July 14 program. |
| Home of the Whoppers (July 11, 2008) |
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An artist's concept shows a star cluster filled with the glow of red supergiant stars. At left, one of the stars has already exploded as a supernova. Red supergiants are the largest and most massive stars in the galaxy, and most will die in titanic explosions. Astronomers have discovered two clusters that, combined, contain about 40 red supergiants -- about 20 percent of all the known red supergiants in the galaxy. [NASA/ESA/A. Schaller (STScI)] For more information, see our July 11 program. |
| Quite a Drop (July 7, 2008) |
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A cliff that is almost a mile high slices across the right side of this image of Mercury snapped by the Messenger spacecraft in January. Similar cliffs were detected by the only other Mercury mission, in the 1970s, but this one may be the longest yet, stretching several hundred miles across the volcanic landscape. [NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution] For more information, see our July 7 program. |
| Summer Days (July 4, 2008) |
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The Phoenix lander snapped this picture of its surroundings on June 25, the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere of Mars. The lander, which is about a third of the way through its mission, has analyzed several soil samples, and is preparing to study a sample that appears to be mixed with water ice. One of the mission's goals was to determine if there is ice beneath the surface of Mars at far-northern latitudes, and scientists have already determined that the answer is yes. [NASA/JPL/Univ. Arizona/Texas A&M] |
| A New Beginning (July 1, 2008) |
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Bands and swirls of clouds highlight Saturn's northern hemisphere in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini, which arrived at Saturn in 2004, concluded its primary mission on June 30, and is embarking on a two-year extended mission. The extra time will allow it to map more of the moon Titan, which has a thick atmosphere rich in organic compounds, and fly through plumes of water jetting from the south pole of the moon Enceladus. The dark bands at the bottom of this image are the shadows of Saturn's rings, while the small black dot near the top of the planet is the shadow of the moon Mimas. [NASA/JPL/SSI] |
| Getting Hitched (June 27, 2008) |
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The galaxies known as NGC 5427 (left) and NGC 5426 are beginning a slow gravitational embrace that eventually could lead them to merge to form a single giant galaxy. A faint bridge of stars links the two galaxies, each of which is similar in size to our own Milky Way. The early stages of their gravitational encounter already is triggering new starbirth, which is taking place in the red blobs in the galaxies' spiral arms. The image was snapped at the Gemini South Telescope in Chile. [Gemini Observatory] |
| Smallest Black Hole? (June 23, 2008) |
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An artist's concept shows superhot gas spiraling around XTE J1650-500, which astronomers say is the smallest black hole yet discovered. The gas comes from a bloated companion star, which is shown in the background. The black hole may be about 3.8 times as massive as the Sun, which is about half as much as a typical "stellar-mass" black hole. [NASA/CXC/A. Hobar] For more information, see our June 23 program. |
| Moon and Jupiter (June 19, 2008) |
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The bright Moon sweeps past the bright planet Jupiter this week. They are in the southeast at nightfall. The stars of Sagittarius are nearby. [Tim Jones/StarDate magazine] For more information, see our June 19 program. |
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